Sam Amico
It’s been a decade since The Blacklist began its run. Now, it’s reached an end.
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That happened on Thursday, July 13, when the NBC investigative hit aired its last episode. A lot has happened, of course, along the way.
The show followed former fugitive Raymond “Red” Reddington, played by James Spader. Reddington turned himself in with a list of fugitives for the FBI to capture — and he intended to help the organization do so, on two conditions. First, he needed to be granted immunity, and second, he would only speak with FBI rookie Elizabeth “Liz” Keen, played by Megan Boone.
That’s how the series began. By the time it ended, Keen was a goner, killed by a hitman. That shocking revelation in Season 8 led Reddington to return his deal with the FBI to help capture bad guys on the blacklist in Keen’s memory.
By Season 10, Red was back on the run after being called in by called in by the Congressman Arthur Hudson’s task force. Fittingly, the final episode centers on Red’s last hurrah, and his relationship with comrade and former bodyguard Dembe Zuma, now an FBI Special Agent (played by Hisham Tawfiq).
“Don’t do me any more favors,” Red said in a private phone call to Zuma in the two-part finale’s opening scene.
“I won’t. I’m going to bring you in, Raymond,” Zuma responded.
The search was on, but true to form, Red proved elusive.
At least, to the FBI. Eventually, he was tracked down — but not until the very end. And it wasn’t a special agent or so-called bad guy who led to his downfall.
Instead, it was by something Red cherished throughout his entire run as an informant.
And that was it. The show was over.
“The series finale promised white-knuckled action, and it delivered with every twist and turn,” wrote NBC Insider. “There were tears, laughs, and endless passion sewn into every scene.”
For full details, just watch the series finale. If you’re not a fan, now might be a good time to start being one.
